People who have managed their own startup or websites online will know the stressors which come along through the job. It will require some finesse and a lot of research online. To install a CMS, create your own theme, back up the database, and fix bugs will require a whole toolbox of knowledge. But there are some helpful resources to be found online which may expedite the process of creating new website launches.

I want to present a small collection of webapps and tools online for startup founders and webmasters. These are each unique in their own right but should not be underestimated as a beneficial product. One of the most difficult tasks when managing a startup is to keep the company above water, and not to lose yourself in debt. I think that by focusing on the free options available it will provide a wider margin for saving money.

WordPress CPT Generator

I am always fiddling around in WordPress because it is the easiest and most secure PHP/MySQL CMS. One of the more complicated topics is related to building custom post types for your layout. Thankfully I found an amazing tool online which offers free custom post type generation for PHP source code.

You simply enter the details for your CPT and list all the important labels, features, and functionality. Then this resource will output a set of default codes which you may copy/paste into your theme’s functions.php file. I generally like to split up functions into library files like functions-cpt.php. Then you can include everything into the same file without needing to sort through huge blocks of code.

But overall I must recommend this resource as a staple for WordPress developers. I know that not every startup will have a purpose to use WordPress. But if you have yet to try it out, then I think it is an extremely beneficial system worth learning. And this tool will only help to shave off your development requirements.

Google Snippet Optimization

The quality of your website when it ranks in Google searches will reflect on the total number of clickthroughs by interested users. Both your webpage title and description are vital to attract any useful content. The Google SERP Snippet Optimization Tool is a free online resource for testing your headlines and page titles. Simply enter the text for your title tag and it will automatically display as if you are looking at the search results page.

I find this more useful now than ever before as I am constantly thinking of better solutions for page titles. Google will limit all websites to using 70 characters in length. So when you are dealing with a sub-sub-page 2 levels deep it can be tough to include all that context inside your title tag. But keep this page bookmarked for future reference as you are dealing with SEO strategies. I find myself running back to check new ideas all the time.

Hacker News

Although this may not exactly be a tool itself, the Hacker News frontpage gets updated almost 3-4 times per day. You can find startup tools and articles discussing business management, programming, marketing, and other related ideas. Hacker News is my go-to source for new startups and technologies. It is also a very specific website with a no-nonsense community of educated developers and businessmen interested in the startup scene.

Just check out the homepage titles and see if you find anything worthwhile. I have found numerous blog posts on this site which helped improve my knowledge of running a common startup. Not to mention further interesting topics like A/B testing, bitcoins, hiring & firing, mobile app development, even web server sysadmin ideas. There are also lots of tools and resources which make it onto the front page every day – so keep checking back whenever you have the time.

Sync.in

Collaboration with teammates or colleagues over the Internet can be tough. Using Google Drive and other alternatives can be too formal, and it is difficult finding a similar network or program to offer free services. Now cue the cloud-based text editor Sync.in which allows multiple authors typing and editing one document at the same time. You may choose to pay for a premium account which allows for private documents, or just use the open free notes which are public and sharable to anyone.

Sync is fantastic if you need to document ideas or links for a specific website launch. You may want to keep a running tally of employees or maybe new blog post ideas. Overall Sync may have 101 different uses for your startup team. Just by checking out their features listing it should become obvious if you would have a need to work within Sync’s online note collaboration tools. But give it a quick demo trial and see how you feel. The user interface is extraordinary and provides one solid web application for communicating with multiple teammates anywhere in the world.

Closing

I have enjoyed running my own startup online and although the team is small, we learn quickly and scale out operations in an agile manner. These tools are just a couple of ideas which we have been using for a few years now. There are obviously many other places you should check out for inspiration. Plus the majority of free tools have other competition which may provide a better interface or compatibility for a different purpose. If you have any suggestions for other startup resources please share with us in the post discussion area.

About Jake Rocheleau

Jake is a digital researcher and writer on many popular design magazines. He frequently writes on topics including web design, user experience, mobile apps, and project management. You can find him all throughout Google and tweeting @jakerocheleau.
Connect with Jake on google+